Pietersen, 28 tomorrow, said: “I’m humbled to have been handed the England one-day captaincy in Paul Collingwood’s absence for the final NatWest Series game at Lord’s.

“Captaining England has been a dream of mine but I also understand that I’m assuming the role in Paul’s absence as he is the captain and leader of the one-day side.

“To be asked to captain your country is the ultimate honour in sport and I feel privileged and proud to have been asked to lead the side on Saturday.”

Collingwood was today banned for four limited-overs matches for England’s slow over rate in the heated one-wicket defeat to New Zealand yesterday.

Collingwood, 32, will miss the Lord’s contest against the Kiwis, a one-day international against Scotland and two further matches against South Africa, the first a Twenty20 and the second an ODI, later this summer.

He was found guilty of a level three offence in the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct by match referee Javagal Srinath last night.

Collingwood, who did not contest his punishment, said: “Obviously I’m disappointed to be missing England’s next four limited overs matches but as a team we are aware of the rules and regulations in place and it’s my responsibility to bear the penalties for such a breach. ”Clearly we’ll look to address the problem so it doesn’t happen again.

“The England captaincy means the world to me and already I’m looking forward to leading the one-day team against South Africa in August. ”I wish my team-mates all the best for Saturday’s final ODI as we aim to finish the series with a win.“

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